Anxiety and on citalopram

[Rainbow1994]

Hello, just wondered if i could get advice. So i have suffered with anxiety for years but last year after my baby i got really bad and ended up having to go on citalopram. It took abit of time to adjust to them but after a few months i felt great and have felt brill for a good 8-9 months. Actually thought i was reay to come off them. I went on them last september so coming up to a year. Anyway for the last 2 weeks my anxiety has flared a little but nothing too bad. I think i was scared of being put to sleep (i had surgery on monday) and then on thursday while still recovering my son took ill and was put in hospital over night. Luckily hes alot better.
Today my chest has felt rather tight and i can only describe my breathing as "not being able to fill up my lungs" i was like this last year absolutley terrible. Got better and then it has returned over the last 2 weeks. I dont know whether to go to the drs and try up my medication? Is this a blip because i have been scared for surgery and stuff? I dont know but i am so scared of going back to how i was. I am on 20mg citalopram by the way.

I just feel very deflated that i am experincing physical symptoms again.

Sounds like you have every reason to be feeling anxious at the minute.

In the short term the increase in dose prob won’t help
too much as it could take weeks to work. I’ve been on 10 mg for 6 months and found they help, but have also been speaking to a therapist- who does a lot of compassion focused therapy- maybe in the short term some skills like that might help. It might be a while to get help on NHS for talking therapy, but could you pay or get it via your work at all?

or maybe check out some people on instagram- I look at Anna mathur a lot - her podcasts on the therapy edit are brilliant.

i hope things settle down soon for you and that your son is ok..

@Monkey130 yeah although i dont feel anxious anymore i still have the symptoms when it comes to breathing and stuff its really annoying me. I also go away in august and am scared of flying as im costraphobic so theres a chance thats playing me up too. I didnt know what to do whether to try up or not but i didnt want to be on more than 20mg. In your experience have you ever had a "blip" and manage to come back from it? And how long did it last?

I’ve only been on 6 months and feel like I’ve only just got settled- I still have days when I feel like that- stressed, tight painful shoulders from my tense breathing but I do try and relax even for a min. Working in my breathing helps.

I hate flying- didn’t use to but
uts gotten really bad recently. I did the fearless flyer course recently via easy jet- it was really useful in explaining all the technical sides of flying- turbulence scares me- but now i understand it. They also do a lot on dealing with the anxiety of it. I’m still not keen on long flights- but happy with short 1 hour flights. I’d really recommend it. Otherwise there is a fearless flyer Facebook group- they support each other and there is a pilot on the group who answers all the ‘silly’ questions that casus the anxiety.

you have been through a lot health wise and with a flight coming up- it’s not surprising- plus dealing with this and normal day to day life. Be kind to your self, take each hour min as it comes. Don’t be so hard on your self, and lower your expectations of yourself. You really have got this!

it might be worth speaking with the GP as well to get their thoughts on the meds as well- I’m sure they’ll say try and ride it out. Life is full of waves that keep rolling in, and sometimes they’re a bit higher than others- this is prob just one of them. Take care

Oh my god @Monkey130 thankyou so much for your lovely reply i will keep reading back on that to give me a nudge when needed.
Thankyou! X

Sorry you’ve had such a tough time. Did you come off them with the supervision of a GP? It has to be done really really slowly.

@Wolfiefan no i havent come off them im considering upping them, i have had a shitty couple of weeks and in 2 minds what to do.

I’ve been on them for 15ish years and come off from time to time. Ultimately for me, I’m an anxious person and when I’m not medicated my anxiety will escalate. I don’t envision ever fully coming off them TBH. They control the symptoms, they’re not a cure.

@StormingNorman thankyou for your reply they have deffinatley controlled my symptoms from how i was last year i was severly poorly with my mental health, but like i say in my post i have had a few things to be anxious over but now these have passed im hopinh it settles but with me flying in august and being scared i dont think it will. And the "not being able to breathe" feeling is awful.

Sorry I misunderstood. I’m on Prozac and my GP is happy for me to increase the dose if I feel I need it. Maybe ask? (With my medication I can up it then come back down when I’m ready. I don’t need to taper.)
I also use CBT, mindfulness and exercise to help too. Plus spending time outdoors.

@Wolfiefan funny you mention the outdoors as last year when i was ill, i had to walk everyday and as i slowly got better the walking tapered off, i have mindfulness app its brilliant havnt used it for a while actually. Yeah think i will ask for a review. Thankyou! X

Good luck OP.

With 3 young children i just want to be clear of anxiety and be able to be who i once was. But that will never happen. I have had CBT and also on medication i just feel like im going backwards especially with the anxiety symptoms coming back. Im only 30! X

Just because it hasn’t happened yet @Rainbow1994 doesnt mean it won’t. I took flipping ages to find the right medication at the right dose. And the CBT techniques have got more effective the more I’ve practised them. Adding in exercise, mindfulness and self care can all help too.

I have been fine on the citalopram up until last few weeks, does this happen? Is it normal? Do you have blips for this long? Or do I need to get my medz reviewed or change? I dont no. I dont feel low in mood or anything it's just the anxiety symptoms creeping back. I'm gutted tbh as I was doing so well, I have never put my cbt techniques in use as they weren't relevant to my type of anxiety. Only the breathing ones.

Worth having a medication review and revisiting the CBT. Some of the stuff that may not have seemed helpful when you first start can end up being useful in the long run. Anxiety is awful isn’t it? No harm on having a chat with the prescriber of the meds.

It is absolutley terrible I have heard people talk about there anxietys and stuff but never really understood it up until this past year. It has been hell, and I now understand mental health because anxiety can be cruel to your mind. I think I'm going to try 30. I wonder if surgery can trigger anxiety back off ? I dont know I'm just looking for answers. X